Nowadays, digital modelling of physical humans and their behaviour has in
many ways and application areas matured from research into industrial
application. Nevertheless, a large potential for further development
remains. With regard to human simulation, digital human models (DHM) have
become commonly used tools in virtual prototyping and human-centred
product design. They support human-in-the-loop (HITL) ergonomic
evaluation of new product designs during the early design stages of a
product, by means of modeling anthropometry, posture, forces, motion,
muscular effort, or predicted discomfort. While DHM are currently still
largely stand-alone applications, future DHM will be dominated by fully
integrated CAE methods, realistic 3D design, and musculoskeletal and soft
tissue modelling all the way down to the micro-scale molecular processes
within single muscle fibres. Important aspects of current DHM research
are functional analysis, model integration, and task simulation. Digital
("virtual"; "analytic") humanoids provide streamlined and efficient
support of product testing and verification, allowing for task-dependent
performance and motion simulation. Beyond rigid body mechanics, soft
tissue modeling will become a standard in future DHM. When addressing
advanced issues beyond anthropometry and biomechanics in a holistic
perspective, human mental modeling, behaviours, abilities, and skills
must be considered in DHM. Recent projects have proposed a more
comprehensive approach to human modelling by implementing perceptual,
cognitive, and performance models, representing human behaviour on a
non-physiologic level. Through integration of algorithms from the
artificial intelligence domain, the vision of a virtual human will become
reality.

Objectives

To increase and foster the awareness of ergonomics in the development of DHM technology.

To identify and share research needs in the field of digital human
modelling.

To share data, algorithms, tools, and methods in the digital human
modelling community.

To inform ergonomists and the general public about DHM technologies, and
to promote the relevance of ergonomics to stakeholders in domains
relevant to digital human modeling and simulation, such as product
design, interaction design, human-machine-interface (HMI) engineering,
marketing, and management.

To organize an annual DHM symposium as a marketplace for basic and
applied DHM research, and to promote commercial DHM solutions and related
technologies.

To support the IEA Triennial Congress through delivery of a DHM thematic
track of research presentations.

Structure

Currently, the TC has 480 members from all over the world, primarily Europe, North America and Asia.

The TC meets once a year, typically in connection with an ergonomics conference or a related activity.

The TC supports the annual symposium on digital human modeling, focusing on the latest research findings and industrial applications of Digital Human Models